Cubs sweep Pirates

Williams (5-7), who had lost four of five decisions and got only five outs in his previous start against the Dodgers, walked two and struck out five in 7 1-3 innings.

Ryan Dempster fanned all three batters in the ninth for his 22nd save, finishing the four-hitter.

Pittsburgh has lost four straight, nine of 10 and 14 of 18. The Pirates have also dropped eight in a row at home, their longest skid at PNC Park since it opened in 2001.

The Cubs have won seven consecutive games in Pittsburgh, tying a club record last accomplished from 1896-97.

Garciaparra, who missed most of the season with a groin injury, was 2-for-4 with his sixth home run. He connected leading off the second inning, his fourth homer in six games.

Jeromy Burnitz doubled to score Neifi Perez in the sixth. Chicago then appeared poised to break the game open with runners on second and third and none out, chasing Kip Wells. But Salomon Torres retired Garciaparra on a popup behind the plate and, after an intentional walk, got Michael Barrett to bounce into a double play.

Wells (7-15) allowed two runs and six hits in five-plus innings. He has lost 11 of 12 decisions since June 8.

The Pirates entered the game leading the National League by hitting .288 with runners in scoring position and were batting .389 (14-for-36) their previous four games in such situations.

But Pittsburgh had precious few opportunities to improve on that statistic Sunday, advancing a runner as far as second base in only three innings. In the second, Daryle Ward and Ty Wigginton singled to start the inning, but Humberto Cota struck out and Jack Wilson grounded into a double play.

With Craig Wilson on third and Ward on second with one out in the seventh, Williams struck out Cota and Jack Wilson grounded out.

When Williams walked Freddy Sanchez with one out in the eighth, manager Dusty Baker replaced him with left-hander Will Ohman, who struck out Brad Eldred. Roberto Novoa then came on and  after throwing a wild pitch that advanced Sanchez to second  got Jason Bay to ground out.

Notes: With a paid attendance of 23,204 at PNC Park, 1,590,964 fans have attended Pirates games this season, passing last season's total of 1,583,031. The team is on pace to have one of the eight highest attendance totals in club history. ... The Pirates have lost 10 of 11 at PNC Park and are 3-13 there since July 25.